South Korean medtech company Puzzle AI is set to take on the medical AI voice technology assets of VUNO as part of a recently signed strategic agreement.

Established in 2018, Puzzle AI develops voice AI technology tools for the medical industry. Its portfolio of solutions includes VoiceEMR, which converts voice dictation into a medical record, and VoiceENR, a voice recognition tool for nurses.

WHAT IT'S ABOUT

The latest deal involves the transfer of VunoMed Deep ASR to Puzzle AI. The solution uses AI for automatic voice recognition and real-time and accurate documentation of dictated medical terms, even those that contain long and complex words or in mixed Korean and English languages. It has been adopted by over 20 major hospitals around South Korea since it was launched in 2019.

An internal performance test has found the solution to have over 98% speech recognition accuracy and conducts real-time medical documentation 1.5 times faster compared to conventional speed. 

According to a media release, VUNO will maintain the patent right for the technology, allowing it to receive license fees and sales commissions, while Puzzle AI will receive an exclusive license for the patent.

Following the transfer, Puzzle AI will handle the research and development of both companies' medical AI solutions while VUNO will focus on sales and marketing.

WHY IT MATTERS

In a statement, VUNO said the turnover of its medical audio business to Puzzle AI will allow the company to focus on its medical imaging portfolio, which accounts for most shares of the company's sales. It also plans to concentrate on research and development of health monitoring solutions, particularly its cardiac arrest prediction device, VunoMed DeepCARS.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Last year, Nuance Communications, a US-based developer of conversational AI for healthcare, acquired Saykara, which specialises in mobile AI clinical documentation. Saykara's flagship product called Kara is used for medical dictation and automatic clinical note creation during in-person or virtual visits. This mobile tool for iOS devices can be integrated with major EMR systems.

Meanwhile, Indian AI company Augnito launched last year its own AI-powered speech-to-text SaaS for producing clinical reports, such as radiology, histopathology and surgical notes. 

ON THE RECORD

"Through this deal, we have established a solid strategic partnership with Puzzle AI to continuously pursue profits related to medical voice business by enhancing business synergy effects, and at the same time, we have laid an important foundation for focusing our R&D capabilities on our main businesses, such as medical images and bio-signals," said VUNO CEO Lee Ye-ha.